Families of Australia: Meet the Hills

If you haven’t heard of the Families of Australia mini web series it’s time to get clued up. Launched in March 2017, the series focuses on sharing Australia’s top family-friendly experiences with travellers via Virgin Australia’s inflight entertainment system, on Family Travel and on YouTube and on the Families of Australia site. Designed to deliver useful destination information to families dreaming about travel, planning travel and travelling, the series consisted of unique videos of everyday families exploring top family-friendly destinations Australia.

“Australian families are seven times more likely to travel domestically than internationally,” said Janeece Keller, CEO of Family Travel and Creative Director of the Families of Australia Series. “With so many families travelling around the country, we knew how important it was they have access to great content that helps them decide how to spend their precious family time. These video stories provide a great way for us to connect with travelling families, and show them the great depth and breadth of experiences available around the country.”

The Families of Australia campaign saw 18 local families visit over 140 of the best family attractions and destinations around the country over 12 months, resulting in over 275 individual videos being created and shared across Virgin Australia’s inflight entertainment system, Family Travel’s website, the Families of Australia microsite, YouTube and on partner websites. A total of 20 episodes have aired so far on Virgin Australia’s e-channel, accounting to over seven hours of unique content.

Families participating in the campaign became the face of their local region on Virgin Australia’s In-flight Entertainment system and on familytravel.com.au, sharing the top family-friendly attractions and destinations around the country. In addition to destination experts, one family was also selected to share the best of accessible and inclusive travel in Australia. Curious to know where they visited? Destinations highlighted throughout the series include:

This library of amazing content is now available for all families to enjoy and be inspired by for their next getaway somewhere around the country. Make sure you check it out at the Families of Australia microsite.

Throughout the campaign, consumers were encouraged to watch and vote for their favourite family destination videos, with monthly prize draws of $250 Family Travel vouchers up for grabs.

All the families are winners… but our official winning family award goes to the Hills. The Hill family come from the Central Coast and followed our film crew to Newcastle for the Families of Australia mini web series.

The Hills love the Central coast but want to visit the Galapagos Islands one day. Picture: Supplied.

Read on to learn about their adventures across the globe, and what they love most about living on the Central Coast. Watch their videos on the Families of Australia microsite.

Talking with the Hills family

Tell us a bit about your family.

We are a family of five who love to explore our local area and the world. We have done some pretty amazing things as a family, from feeding Reindeers and seeing Santa in Finland to learning traditional Navajo games with a local guide in Monument Valley. We always find travel makes us closer as a family.

What has been your favourite adventure as a family?

Our last overseas holiday is pretty hard to beat. We explored stunning Iceland in a campervan for 10 days, walked behind waterfalls, tasted 1000-year-old-ice on a glacier lagoon, explored lava caves underground and saw the Northern Lights. We had fun with family in England we haven’t seen for a long time, then explored amazing places in Scotland like the Isle of Skye and The Orkney Islands.

Why do you love the Central Coast?

If you are looking for somewhere with a laidback pace, lots of stunning beaches and fun outdoor activities then the Central Coast is a must-do. There’s easy accommodation for all budgets, from camping right on the beachfront at Umina and Toowoon Bay to beautiful hotels like Crown Plaza at Terrigal or Oaks Waterfront Resort at The Entrance.

Activities vary from adventure, like kite surfing, to toddler-friendly like Vera’s Water Garden and The Japanese Gardens. There’s lots for animal lovers too, with horse riding, Pelican feeding at the Entrance and the Australian Reptile Park.

We also recommend Bouddi National Park Coastal Walk, Maitland Bay shipwreck and Sommersby Falls. If it is beaches you’re after, our favourites are Spoon Bay, Lobster Beach and Frazer Beach, and our favourite beachside towns are Avoca, Terrigal and Ettalong.

If you could visit anywhere in the world as a family, where would you go?

We all have different bucket list destinations. Kian would love to see the Amazon, Tehya would like to go on an African Safari, Jude would like to see a Kiwi bird in New Zealand and Kirsty would love to see Bhutan. As a family, we all agree an adventure to the Galapagos Islands would be an experience of a lifetime.